Sleep Paralysis: Can it have a demonic aspect to it?

reply to post by CaticusMaximus
I totally agree with you about using the paralysis to induce lucid dreaming. I have achieved this before, its just the fear that I speak of usually prevents it. (for me)

reply to post by Picollo30


First off, everything you described, is exactly what is supposed to occur during sleep-paralysis and hypnogogia. Sleep Paralysis is what happens when you become conscious before your body wakes up. It's not unnatural. So when you are conscious, but cannot move, that is a sure sign of sleep paralysis.

Second, any persons' natural inclination upon waking up immobilized is going to be fear. You clearly remember going to bed being able to move, and now you can't, you are certainly going to panic. Still a symptom of sleep paralysis.

Third, sensing an evil presence. This is psychosomatic. You believe in God and the Devil (otherwise you wouldn't have thought there was a demon in your room). So, you wake up unable to move, and conscious, and you're afraid. You fall back on your most fundamental faith: God conquering the Devil. And then you pray, feeding the hypnogogia with your own fear.

Hypnogogia can manifest in a multitude of ways: people hear their name called, they can hear singing, they can see shadows in the room move, they can imagine a figure at the edge of their bed, they can smell phantom odors, and a number of other things. Believing a demonic imp is jumping on your back, which you cannot see, is exactly what hypnogogia would cause.

Finally, focus. You prayed. You focused your mind, allayed your fear, and in doing so began to wake up your body. The mind sent commands to your body that things were happening and it should operate to either flee, or fight them. Your focus, due to praying, helped you wake up fully.

Sleep paralysis and hypnogogia. Nothing more, nothing less.

~ Wandering Scribe

They are demons that enter your bedroom through the dark shadows and stand in the corner of the room staring at you. They cause you to become paralysed because that is when they project nightmares into you. That's what you feel when they first enter. Sometimes there are more than one, and you can hear them whispering to each other. You can smell the leather of their butchers coats. You can hear them come in, there is a whooshing sound, similar to when they leave but it's softer.

They thrive off the negative energy, like a parasite.

reply to post by winofiend
Oh!...well that clears everything up...nothing more to see here folks.

reply to post by Picollo30


I have had sleep paralysis episodes on a regular basis for years, and they used to be pretty scary, mainly because I find it hard to breathe. There was one episode where I told myself that I was OK, and not to fight it, and it was pretty cool after that. Whenever it happens just tell yourself that you will be fine, and just go with it. The visions and "dreams" that you have are pretty interesting if you can keep your rational mind in tact during the episode.

rational explanation for SP makes sense to people who haven't gone through it which is totally understandable. Its a whole different beast when it happens to you and the rational explanation seems lacking. 99 percent of the time people are scared when they wake up why? This is even before you realize you cant move. Add in the fact that you are totally aware of your surroundings. I was in a bed and was positioned in a way i could see the tv I knew what was on, The sensation of hands over your mouth and temperature of the room I could recall, hallucinations are not normally that detailed. The fear is overpowering I couldn't explain it you people who have not had SP. Its a fear at your very core. I have had close calls where i almost died and even then I wasn't as afraid as i was in that moment I had SP.

Its like you want to see what the hell is going on but your body knows better and will not let you move. Here is my take on this. Lets say you had an awesome dream you wake up not afraid and are aware of everything but you cant move you know you have had SP before so you know it will pass. This reality never happens you always wake up fearful and totally aware. If it was external stimuli that caused you to suddenly wake up and not be able to move humans would have never died off years ago. If it was just the brain waking up before the body you would have the ability to control the fear because your aware. something is amiss

It is just another sleep disorder. I use to talk a lot in my sleep and I even had some episodes of sexsomnia which weirded my wife out.One time I woke up in the middle of it. The brain is a funny thing especially when it comes to sleeping and dreaming were others sleep walk every where and others wake up before their body does.

reply to post by Picollo30


Though I have not authored a thread about it lately, I have been able to participate, willingly, in lucid dreams and out of body experiences.

I have been doing this for so long that I can literally have an OBE at will, when it is bed time that is. I generally need to know 1 day ahead of time that I want to have an OBE, as there are some things that I can do to make entering OBE much easier.

Thanks to this skill/gift I have been able to experience most every aspect of a Lucid Dream and an OBE.

From sleep goblins who steal your breath while paralyzing you, sleep paralysis w/o goblins, and the feeling of a lead blanket slowly being laid over my body, to the electric tingle and rare 'shattering' sounds just before or after an OBE, I have been fortunate to experience them all and analyze them in my own way - for my own understanding.

In the earliest experiences I can recall, there was almost always a dynamic of pure evil to the experiences. Being paralyzed, unable to speak or move, with a feeling of a demon sent straight from hell just about to snatch me up and take me with them has always been the most terrifying aspect of these experiences.

One instance in particular, I awoke to a nasty case of sleep paralysis* - unable to move at all or yell for help, but able to move my eyes - I was overwhelmed with a sense of danger and extreme fear. I just knew there was something real about to kill me any moment.

Unable to move my body, I scanned the dark room and was shocked at what I found before me, at the edge of my bed. It was about 3.5ft tall, wearing what seemed to be a hooded robe - similar to an Ewok*(?) - and was gazing directly at me.

It had a terrifying troll face with coarse hair around the outside, a snub nose like a boar, extremely long and sharp teeth sticking out of the top and bottom with an equally nasty 2nd set of identical teeth, only smaller, inside the 1 set.

I was so scared I literally almost cried. I tried yelling at the top of my voice, but found myself saying incomprehensible mumbles in a relatively quiet tone. This frightened me even more.

It was a stand-off. The demon was patiently waiting at the end of my bed for me to fall back asleep and I was struggling to break the SP.

After what seemed like 10 minutes, but was probably less than 1 minute, I broke the paralisis with a single finger twitch. Quickly, over the next several seconds, I struggled to completely break the hold SP had on me.

As each part of my body began to slowly come back to life, the demon slowly began to disappear. My arm could move, the Demon's arm disappeared, my leg could move, the Demon's leg vanished, etc.

I was scared to go back in the room and go to sleep, but eventually calmed down and slept it off - made worse by the fact I live alone and had no one for comfort, haha, it actually scared me bad enough to wish my mom was there, like when I was a kid with a nightmare.

Although I have had many auditory and visual hallucinations related to SP and OBE, I have never encountered a creature as horrible as that little Demon, and hope I never do.

Once I began having more and more control over my SP and OBEs, I developed the ability to remove the fear from the equation. In fact, I believe the #1 reason most people can not fully experience an OBE is because the fear dynamic of the experience is way too strong and frightens them awake before actually seperating from their body and entering an OBE.

I have had many many experiences where I can feel a very evil, demonic presence nearby, but rarely see it embodied in a physical form.

Recognizing an Evil presence during SP is a hallmark for SP and pre-OBE. Almost everyone who reports SP and OBE confirm their feeling of an Evil presence at some point in the experience.

Many people will experience SP at one point or another. Fewer will have the ability to experience SP more than a handful of times and still fewer will experience regular SP. A percentage of SP experiencers will also experience an OBE at some point in their life, some of them will experience multipke OBE's, and some will be able to control OBE's.

If you are experiencing SP on a regular basis, or if you can trigger it yourself, my advice would be to overcome the fear aspect and work on reaching seperation from your body and entering into a full OBE.

It is an absolutely amazing experience. An experience where you can do whatever you please; fly, walk through walls, find answers to questions, seek out wisdom, and possibly even grow spiritually.

One thing is certain, for me anyway, the feeling of euphoria that accompanies a successful OBE outweighs the fear found within SP experiences 100:1. You can go to sleep in a bad mood and, after OBE, wake up in the best mood imagineable.

Sorry for the long post and hope it helps some.

reply to post by winofiend


HAHA!

You know, to anyone who has never experienced SP with visual hallucinations, they will think you are a fruity nut cake for saying that.

Those who have seen something like it will know what you are describing to be within the realm of truth, in the context of SP.

Some people believe the things are real, as in material and tangible. I do not believe that. I mean, they are obviously 100% real, but I am undecided on whether they arrive fromany source outside of our own minds.

I can't deny it, because I had never ever seen anything similar to the Demon in my SP experience, yet it was right there in the room with me. I suppose it could be my subconcious meshing things together to produce the Demon's appearance, but I can not prove that either.

What I find significantly strange about the appearance of these Demons is the fact that people around the world, who have never met and are seperated by years time and space, describe witnessing incredibly similar Demons within an SP experience.

How could I see a crazy looking Demon in my SP experience and later find out that someone in 1690 Europe described an almost identical creature in their SP?

Strange!

reply to post by Wandering Scribe


I am not sure I am understanding your explanation correctly... Are you saying that because someone believes in God or Satan/Evil that they will experience fear?

If so, this is absolutely not the case at all. SP fear does not arise from any spiritual beliefs one may have or had engrained into them.

Do you experience SP on a regular basis?

Just as we all know the difference between right and wrong, instinctively, we also know the difference between good and evil- instinctively. We know that killing someone is bad/evil and saving someone's life is good.

In SP there is a genuine perception of pure evil. It does not arise from fear or religious ideology, quite the opposite. Fear arises from understanding their is a pure evil presence near.

Instead of our intellect and understanding of the world being responsible for the type of emotions we feel in SP, I think it may be more to do with the brain and chemicals. Experiencing joy is something our brains and chemicals play a large part in and I believe it is also a factor in how we experience fear.

The actual feeling of fear, the way our bodies feel, the way our reflexes respond, the fight or flight mechanism, and our minds comprehension of the type of danger may all be generated by chemicals activated within our brains during SP, leaving us no option to feel anything other than evil and, as a result, fear.

reply to post by Picollo30


Demons do not exist... god does not exist.. heaven and hell do not exist...

So no... its all in your brain... just like your hopes and dreams.

reply to post by esteay812

I am not sure I am understanding your explanation correctly... Are you saying that because someone believes in God or Satan/Evil that they will experience fear?

Not directly, no. However, holding the belief that a supernatural presence of Evil can manifest itself within your home and torment you is certainly enough to cause someone to experience fear at the unknown.

If so, this is absolutely not the case at all. SP fear does not arise from any spiritual beliefs one may have or had engrained into them.

I know this, my reply clearly says it was not spiritual, but explainable through scientific means. I said it was sleep paralysis.

Do you experience SP on a regular basis?

I did from age 12 to age 20 actually. And then I began sleeping in a different position and it went away. I'm quite familiar with what can happen during it. My list of symptoms were not just what I've read about it, but what I experienced myself.

Just as we all know the difference between right and wrong, instinctively, we also know the difference between good and evil- instinctively. We know that killing someone is bad/evil and saving someone's life is good.

Morality is not instinctual. For anything which you deem as "wrong" I can think of a situation where it is right. But that is a topic for another discussion, as the moral precepts of a thing have nothing to do with sleep paralysis.

In SP there is a genuine perception of pure evil. It does not arise from fear or religious ideology, quite the opposite. Fear arises from understanding their is a pure evil presence near.

First, you're suggesting sleep paralysis is caused be evil presences. This is not true. The evidence points in the opposite direction, sleep paralysis makes one perceive demonic presences which aren't really there.

Second, I explained why fear arises during sleep paralysis. The immobilizing element can be terrifying if you're not used to it. It does not come from there being an "evil presence" in the room.

Instead of our intellect and understanding of the world being responsible for the type of emotions we feel in SP, I think it may be more to do with the brain and chemicals. Experiencing joy is something our brains and chemicals play a large part in and I believe it is also a factor in how we experience fear.

You're absolutely right. Reactions in the brain caused by chemicals (specifically: dopamine, serotonin, oxytocin, noradrenaline, and adrenaline) are responsible for pretty much every emotion was are privy to. Our brains send these chemicals out based on our analysis of stimuli. When the input says: "I can't move!" specific chemicals are sent to raise awareness of the body, this results in anxiety. Or, as you call it, fear.

The actual feeling of fear, the way our bodies feel, the way our reflexes respond, the fight or flight mechanism, and our minds comprehension of the type of danger may all be generated by chemicals activated within our brains during SP, leaving us no option to feel anything other than evil and, as a result, fear.

You were very close here. Everything was great until you said evil. Evil is not an emotion, it is an association. Fear is the emotion, and it is a chemical response to waking up immobilized. It had nothing to do with evil, or demons, or morality. It has everything to do with having gone to bed fully functional, and waking up with no functionality.

~ Wandering Scribe

reply to post by Shax35


Start an introduction thread and introduce yourself there. Even though you were on the site once before, you'll amass your twenty posts very easily in an intro thread, as well as garnering some attention to you and your so-called psychic powers.

~ Wandering Scribe

reply to post by Picollo30


I believe that while one is in the sleep paralysis state they are sort of in a threshold between the physical and the spiritual realms. There are certainly demonic and angelic aspects of sleep paralysis; as well as just nonsensical hallucinations. One of the most common elements of a sleep paralysis is the visiting presence.

Indeed, sleep paralysis is chemical. But does that disbar it from being something else? What if the chemical processes are the result of something happening on the level of consciousness? Do we see the presence because our amygdala (fear center of the brain) is stimulated? Or is our amygdala stimulated because we're seeing the presence? Why is our amygdala so active in this state in the first place?

Causes and symptoms, people--do we know which is which when it comes to sleep paralysis? I say, no. We are only looking at the physical evidence, not the subjective descriptions and observations (which is just as important in scientific method.)

Experience sleep paralysis enough and you'll start to realize how deep this episode really goes. It all depends on how quick one wants to scoff, grumble, dismiss, and deny--or on how far down the rabbit hole one wants to go.

Those who want to ridicule you for asking a valid question need to be ignored.

Those who vehemently deny the existence of God need to get out and explore the world a bit more instead of viewing it from their armchair command centers.

Those who deny the possible demonic aspect of sleep paralysis haven't really experienced it much, I imagine.

reply to post by Wandering Scribe


sorry what does introduction fall under what forum nowadays?

reply to post by NarcolepticBuddha


A belief and a fact are different things. Unfortunately, there is no evidence to support the existence of a "spiritual realm." Not that I don't believe in one, I do. I just happen to believe the spiritual realm is an interpersonal experience, as every culture on the planet perceives it differently. So whether or not you believe sleep brings you closer to the spiritual realm is irrelevant, because the spiritual realm is different for every individual. Does a blind man get closer to the spirit realm when he sleeps?

Our scientific understanding of sleep paralysis and hypnogogia (which are very advanced) all point to a purely chemical and spatial reasoning. The hypnic jerk (that feeling where we think we're falling) is due to an inner-ear imbalance, caused by the loss of sight of the horizon. Our brains are tricked into thinking we're falling. Likewise, the fearful reactions, and hallucinations of sleep paralysis and hypnogogia are also scientifically understood.

We don't need any supernatural explanations for a naturally understood event. No one professes a belief that God is bowling to make thunder-claps. Why? Because we know how thunder occurs. Same with sleep paralysis and hypnogogia.

When you talk about angels and demons, which are you referencing? And once you've stated which religions angels and demons you're saying exist, please explain why every other religions angels and demons do not exist. Angels and demons serve different functions in every religion. So don't try and say they're all the same: they're not.

Finally... consciousness. If you accept that sleep paralysis is caused by chemical reactions, and that all emotions stem from them, and that our brains analyze stimuli through the use of chemical reactions... then haven't you just explained consciousness as a chemical reaction? If consciousness is not just the observation, analysis, and mental interaction with the environment, which are all due to chemical reactions... what else is it?

Those who want to ridicule you for asking a valid question need to be ignored.

You can disagree with someone without ridiculing them. Helping someone understand why things actually happen, instead of relying on medieval fears, is not ridiculing them.

Those who vehemently deny the existence of God need to get out and explore the world a bit more instead of viewing it from their armchair command centers.

So we both agree then, right? Baal is the Creator, and we should all worship Him and His wife, Anat, as the ones who designed and operate this beautiful world, yes?

~ Wandering Scribe

reply to post by Shax35


Right here

Sorry if I came off as mean. I'm not. I'm interested to try your gifts out myself. But I'm sure a mod would come along and chastize you for spamming the threads sooner or later. Best to contain it 'til you have your 20. When you do, make your thread though, I'll join the line to ask you questions.

~ Wandering Scribe

reply to post by Wandering Scribe


There is a very good reason why I started my post with "I believe" instead of "100% undeniable proof!". I think you missed that point. But, it's just as well because I really don't understand the point of your reply to me.

Always glad to meet a know-it-all who has total ATS omniscience.

By the way, what I was trying to say is that chemical is a reflection of consciousness and consciousness is a reflection of chemical. There is a balance of power and it is difficult to tell where one begins and the other ends. I'm sorry for having more beliefs on this thread

reply to post by Wandering Scribe


you should ask me a question since my introduction isn't working too well.i'll give educated prediction..